


You can Rewrite your Fate

by littlelamp



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Humor, Anxiety, Blood, Everybody lives hurray, F/M, Falling In Love, Fire, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gore, Hallucinations, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Josh lives AU, M/M, Medication, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Monsters, Nightmares, No wendigos allowed, Really silly at times, References to Drugs, Swearing, Violence, Vomiting, cannibalism mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-19 05:25:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4734257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelamp/pseuds/littlelamp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(An AU where Josh makes it out of those Wendigo infested Mines and makes it back to the lodge with Sam and Mike.)</p><p>Josh's movements became more drunken, as he painfully slipped in and out of reality. His arms tightened their grip on himself, as if he were slowly ripping into pieces. The beat of his own heart rang in his ears, like a tick tock of a clock, he hummed to himself as it slowed and slowed and slowed..</p><p>Also: Watch Josh and Chris fumble around trying to be a happy family! (and who doesn't want that?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fate is Cruel

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically an AU where Josh doesn't die or transform into a Wendigo! Thank you for reading~  
> And I apologise for any mistakes.

It's not everyday that your best friend pretends to get sawed in half, then decides to pursue you as a sociopathic, maniac, serial killer, and all of your other friends, at his own lodge, on his own mountain. Then wild, evil, human eating monsters get tangled up in the middle and try to pursue you, and all your other friends, at the lodge, on their own mountain.

It's quite unbelievable really.

All this mess has split the "friends" up. None of them know if anybody else is alive, because one bad choice, could end them forever.

When Sam came up to the lodge, she definitely did not expect this. 

Mike didn't either.

Mike wasn't a regretful guy, but today he certainly was. He thought Josh had killed his girlfriend. He was so angry and ready to explode, that when he finally saw that all this was a joke. He hit Josh. Hard and a lot. He had pointed a gun to his head, tried to break his fingers, break his wrists, break his everything. Josh had responded to his violence with dirty and crude humour, and looking back at it all. Mike thought he deserved it all at the time.

In reality it wasn't Josh's fault. To Mike, Josh was crazy insane. But he knew now, it still wasn't his fault.

Neither of them even knew what fear was, before Blackwood. 

It was almost unbelievable what the pair saw in front of them. One headless, lifeless, maggot-filled, body hanging from the ceiling like an animal from the butcher. The two of them gagged in unison, but it certainly was not the worst thing they have seen in Blackwood. 

They just needed to find Josh, get the keys for the cable-car, tell him no hard feelings, and then they could all finally leave together and forever. 

It sounds easier than it is.

They stood in silence for a while. Taking in that there was a dead body slung from the ceiling, when they were thrown rudely out of their own thoughts.

By... babbling?

"Wait, wait, wait! I think I saw something in there!" Mike whispered, pointing toward the shambles that was a wall. 

At first the two stayed very still, not wanting to alert anything in the other side of the wall. Until they heard...

"No... no.... no, no, no! I don't... I don't take orders from you!" Came an all too familiar voice. It was Josh.

"Josh!" Sam pushed Mike out of her path, to push open the very weighted door. 

Josh looked... different. He was stumbling around in an unpolished circle, seemingly humming and muttering to himself.

But then he stopped. He threw his hands up in the air, as if he was trying to be threatening.

"I don't take orders from you, you can't tell me what to do...." He bumbled, all of a sudden his threatening stance turning to a weak one.

It was a heart-breaking scene. The man Sam knew as, loving, complex and thoughtful, was now reduced to this.

Josh used to come to Sam for help, she was the only one he could talk about personal matters with. 

Mike brushed past her swiftly, and marched up to Josh without a second thought.

"Hey... hey Josh?!" Even though Mike was right in front of Josh's face, he didn't seem to see him. Was he....? Was Josh crying?

"You can't tell me what to do anymore!!" Josh near yelled, his eyes watery and on the verge of tears. 

Sam shuffled curiously behind Mike, looking at the wreck that stood firm in front of her. Mike and Sam exchanged worried glances, before Mike was up in Josh's personal space again.

"Josh? Buddy?" He asked, waving a hand over the dazed man's face. 

Josh couldn't hold it in anymore, his face was crumpled up and bloody tears were already rolling down his scarred cheeks.

"You can't tell me what to do!!" Josh repeated, seeming to calm down. He strode forward, immediately forgetting about his crying, and barged past Mike and Sam.

"Okay... okay..." Josh hummed calmly, whilst rubbing his palms together and began to smile. 

Sam and Mike were even more confused about the strange man, they had never seen him like this before. 

"I trust you!" Josh babbled, nodding to himself.

"I trust you." He repeated. His eyes began to flutter closed as he took in a deep breath.

"I trust you." He said one last time, but his smile began to fade and his eyes flew open, and stepped back beside the pair behind him.

Sam went to place a caring hand onto Josh's shoulder, but Mike stopped her halfway.

"What is-" Before Sam could finish her sentence, Josh began full on yelling, the tears steaming back down his cheeks again.

He began slapping, punching and kicking thin air. He was making one heck of a racket, and if any of those... things had heard him, it might already be too late.

Whatever Josh's brain was making him see, he obviously did not want to see it.

"What's the matter with him, Mike?" She asked an innocent question, but she knew all too well what was going on.

Ever since his sisters disappeared on a cold snowy night, his mental state seemed to drop. He was very good at hiding it, just smiling and laughing through his pain, whenever he had a breakdown, it was usually with Sam. The only other person who knew about Josh's hallucinations and depression was Chris. But Josh had never dared go crying to him, even though Chris would be more than eager to help his best friend in need.

"He's tripping or something!" Without thinking, Mike launched his open palm straight across Josh's bloody cheek. 

Josh seemed to jump out of his skin for a moment, before it was clear that he was back in the same world as Sam and Mike again. Josh clutched a palm over the red mark Mike had left on his skin, a sickly, offended, surprised expression forming in his face.

"M-Mike?" Josh uttered, as in disbelief. He pressed a cold finger to Mike's chest, as if to see if he was actually real. 

Mike, who was eager to apologize, sprung his hands onto Josh's shoulders roughly, shaking him a little in the process.

"Josh! Hey man-"

"Don't h-hit me, p-please." Josh whimpered, the poor man looked like a kicked puppy.

Sam felt herself smile, even though Josh was as shaken up as ever, she didn't even know if Josh could see her, but she was glad he was alright. Mike backed up a step or two, a guilty look resting in his eyes.

"You were deep in it, man. Full mental jacket!" He said coldly. Sam hissed at Mike's insensitivity, and stepped into Josh's view. 

"Josh..." Sam began, she attempted to reach out for his hand, but he flinched away reflexively. 

"Hannah was down here for... weeks... a month?! She dug Beth up-"

"Sam." Mike interjected, with his expression cold. 

"Let's just get the fuck out of here!" He hissed. Both of their eyes clicked back to Josh, who seemed deadly confused about the whole situation. If Josh had been mentally sober at the time, god knows what he would have done.

"Fine. Josh, do you have the keys for the cable-car?" 

Josh snapped back to reality and fished around in his back pocket, and dug out a small black key. 

For some reason he hesitated.


	2. Fate is Terrifying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was at this bit where Josh dies, but of course, I won't let that happen.

 

They could basically smell Josh's hesitance.

 

Josh's eyes peered all over the small, black, shining, key. This, was their only way out, and Josh knew that. But Josh also knew that he had played a rather unforgivable prank on them too. If he gave the pair this key, they could easily just shove him out the cable-car, and be done with it.

 

And if it wasn't obvious, Josh definitely did not want that to happen.

 

Sam knew what would win him over. She needed to do something that nobody had done in a while. She needed to be his friend.

 

"Hey." She began, catching Josh and Mike's attention. Sam took one nimble step forward, and clasped her hand with Josh's, the key trapped between their hands.

 

"We don't hate you, Josh." She said simply, catching his confused gaze.

 

"Yeah, we know now, that you didn't even cause half the shit that's happened to us today." Mike joined in, taking Sam's hand into his own.

 

Despite the circumstances, Josh felt a little bit of a smile form on his cold, chapped, lips.

 

"Now. Are you gonna give us the key, buddy?"

 

Josh's smile disappeared, but he let Sam take the key from his scarred hands, and watched her shove it into her hoodie pocket.

 

"C'mon, we're getting out of here!" She smirked, jogging back over to the door, where they came from. Mike soon followed after her, and Josh trudged along behind them.

 

As soon as they arrived into the small room, Sam warned Josh almost immediately to not look up. So of course, Josh did so, straight away.

 

At first he just supposed it wasn't real. What was real anyway? But then he saw what seemed to be a half mauled flamethrower, it was dangling from the body's broken shoulders, and it's dead hands still had a grip on it. They must have died fighting.

 

Died fighting, whilst trying to find Josh.

 

"Is it... is it my fault they're dead?" Josh squealed, clasping two hands over his ears. It was like he knew.

 

"No, buddy. No it's not."

 

The golden trio came to a halt when they were faced with what looked like a tiny ocean.

 

"Come on, boys. Dive in!" Sam exclaimed, whilst sliding into the filthy, frozen, water.

 

Josh was sure he'd never felt so unbelievably frozen in all his life.

 

It was going to be a long walk back to the lodge.

 

The stalactites of the Mineshaft were dripping and dropping all over the place, some rusty old lanterns jingling and jangling back and forth, a whole family of cockroaches scuttled disgustingly over the walls, and yet, things were so...

 

Quiet. Too quiet. Much too quiet.

 

Josh had basically smelled _and_ foresaw the danger of the situation.

 

To put it simply...

 

They were fucked.

 

It all happened way too quickly. Mike had felt a little something below the water, but didn't dwell on it.

 

Well, that was before a long slender hand gripped around his ankle and pulled him under.

 

Josh had been hot in Mike's heels, so he was the first to take action. If you consider action to be accidentally kicking Mike in the face.

 

"No! No, you're not real! No you're not!"

 

Mike was struggling frantically under the water, pushing and kicking the grey, lanky limbs away from him. When Josh's foot collided with his nose, it luckily caught the Wendigo's attention, so it let Mike swim free.

 

But then turned it's attention to Josh.

 

"Over here!" Came a nearly audible yell by Sam. The Wendigo's milky eyes flicked away from Josh for a moment, and decided to check out the noise behind it. It let out a soul destroying scream before-

 

"Hannah?" Josh whimpered, his eyes fixed to an all too familiar butterfly tattoo on the creature's arm. The monster seemed to respond, it's vision wandering back to where Josh was standing.

 

"Hey! Catch this, fucker!" And in a heartbeat, Mike had thrown a burning hot lantern at the creature, burning a nasty gash into it's back. Before the monster could react, another lit lantern was thrown, but by Sam this time. Surprisingly, her aim was much better and hit the Wendigo point blank in the head.

 

"Josh! Try and get over here!"

 

How on earth could he run in this kind of water, were they crazy?

 

Well, if they were, he was obviously was crazy too, because he listened. Without a second thought, Josh dived under the water, and kicked himself through the stunned Wendigo's legs.  

 

This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real. He kept telling himself.

 

"Get out of the water! Let's go!"

 

With the help of Sam and Mike, Josh managed to scramble out the water, and he held onto Sam for dear life.

 

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Josh cried as his eyes dashed all over the creature in the water, a look of utter horror plastered onto his face.

 

Mike didn't hesitate, he ran for his bloody life.

 

"Josh move!" Sam yelled, trying to shove the trembling man forward, but ended up doing nothing but push him to the ground.

 

"It's Hannah, it's Hannah! Holy shit, that's Hannah!" He spluttered to himself on the floor.

 

The Wendigo's slinky form began to push itself through the water, it let out an ear crushing shriek as it did so.

 

"Joshua Washington we are getting you out this hole, so get the hell up!"

 

In the heat of the moment, Mike stumbled back to the pair, and threw the now weeping  Josh over his shoulder.

 

"Let's fucking go!"

 

And with that, they ran. Ran as fast as their feet could take them.

 

They slammed doors behind them, they threw more lanterns behind them, barrels were pushed over, mine-carts were pushed.

 

Until finally they were back out in the snow, and there was no sign of it following them.

 

Mike had keeled over. He dropped Josh carelessly into the perishing cold snow, and Sam was laid down beside him.

 

"Holy shit!" She panted.

 

"Holy shit." Mike agreed.

 

They sat in silence for a while. Mike and Sam thought it would be best to let Josh mull over what had happened in there, with Hannah.

 

But Josh's mind was on something else.

 

He was basically fucked. After all this human flesh eating "Wendigo" lark, he didn't know if he could recover. It's not like he was in his parents good books in the first place, but _now._ When he flushed his meds down the toilet, he didn't think anything like _this_ would happen.

 

He thought they deserved it. He thought they killed his sisters. He thought he was in the right, and they were in the wrong.

 

But he was wrong. So very wrong.

 

He hurt Sam, he hurt Mike, he hurt Ashley, he hurt... he hurt Chris.

 

Oh god, Chris. Bro, nerd, _cochise._  


 

He shot up out of the snow, and peered at the pair sat out in front of him.

 

"Where's Chris?" Josh asked, a worried expression settling on his face.

 

"He's fine, Josh. He's back in the lodge. Probably." Mike replied, standing up to his feet and dragging Sam up too.

 

"Okay. Okay, alright. Okay, good." He said, climbing up to his feet also.

 

The walk back to the lodge was bone chilling, and not because of the snow.

 

They were being watched...

 

They were being followed...

 

They were being hunted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that the two bros will be reunited in the next chapter, you have my word!


	3. Fate is Kind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if this chapter is good or not, so please give me some feedback!
> 
> Thank you :D

 

"Josh?"

 

Inept steps were thrown forward carelessly. The slush slosh of the snow under his boots were soothing to his ears, the twitter of distressed birds in the sky, the sensation of the snowy breeze on his fingertips, and a strange warm feeling of hope filling his chest.

 

"Hello? Buddy?"

 

Josh's movements became more drunken, as he painfully slipped in and out of reality, his life practically flashed before his very eyes, right up to this moment. He struggled and pushed himself forward, Sam and Mike were nothing but a blur to him now. His arms tightened their grip on himself, as if he were slowly ripping into pieces. His eyes were bloodshot and paranoid, his hands were scarred and bloody. The beat of his own heart rang in his ears, like a tick tock of a clock, he hummed to himself as it slowed and slowed and slowed...

 

The lodge was within their sights, hope, friends, freedom. It would all be theirs soon enough. The key to their cage was nearly in their grasp. They would have their redemption, dead or alive it didn't matter. They will be free.

 

"Joshua? Josh can you hear me?! Hello?!"

 

Footsteps, forward, got to keep going. He told himself. Footsteps, forward, don't stop. Forward, forward, don't give up.

 

Get to the lodge, get back to the lodge, get back to....

 

Chris.

 

How could he ever forgive him? After all he did to him, Chris was bound to hate him. Chris was going to yell at him, hit him, leave him, leave him all alone. Josh didn't want to be alone. Josh wouldn't be alone. He couldn't be alone.

 

"Josh! Stop! STOP!!"

Then everything went black.

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

 

It was colder in the lodge than it was outside.

 

Chris had at least ten more layers than necessary. But he still found himself shivering and his teeth chattering.

 

He had returned to the lodge with Ashley and Emily. There was no sign of Matt or Jess, Ashley was giving him the cold shoulder, and Emily didn't want anything to do with him. Perfect. He wasn't really a ladies man anyway, even though he won't admit it.

 

The three of them were in pieces. Ashley had locked herself in the bathroom, Emily was sulking in the corner, and Chris was perched awkwardly on the edge of an armchair. He had an empty beer bottle in his hand, he had smashed one end on the edge of a table, and made it into some sort of makeshift weapon. Just in case.

 

"It's really cold." He stated, trying his hardest to make conversation. He could hear Ashley's groan of annoyance from all the way down there.

 

"Okay... I'll shut up then." Chris pouted. He began making clicking noises with his tongue, but stopped when Emily gave him the most unimpressed glare she could muster.

 

"Chris..."

 

Chris flicked his vision away from the door, and now paid attention to Ashley, who was now sat comfortably on the edge of the stairs.

 

"I think I saw something..." She lifted a shaking finger and pointed towards the door.

 

Great. Awesome. Fantastic. Fabulous. Amazing. That's just gold.

 

"Shit. I'll... I'll check it... I'll check it out." He tried his hardest to not sound like a complete wimp, which of course, was not working.

 

The door slowly creaked open, and Chris stepped one foot out, decided it was too cold, and retreated back inside, where he was welcomed by two unamused stares.

 

"No, no, no. Get the hell back out there." Came Emily, who was now leaning against the door frame.

 

With a hesitant squeak, Chris made his way outside.

 

"Okay, remember what the dude said. Stand still, stand real still, and try not to..."

 

"Panic?"

 

Chris let out the most unmanly noise in the world as he fell onto his backside, to see Sam standing before him.

 

"Sam?! What the fuck, dude! I thought you were a Wentino!" Chris groaned, as he struggled getting up to his feet.

 

"You mean Wendigo?" Sam chuckled, helping him up.

 

When Chris came to his senses, his expression became serious and he ran a hand roughly through his hair.

 

"Where the fuck is Josh? I thought you were going to get him?!"

 

"Chris, he's fine, he's back there with Mike." Sam gestured to behind her.

 

Mike had Josh slung over his shoulders again, and Josh seemed to be unconscious.

 

Chris immediately forgot about saying hello and ran up to Mike and tugged Josh from his shoulder, all without thinking.

 

"What have you done?!" Chris cupped his hands onto Josh's face, and felt his forehead.

 

"Woah, tiger, calm down a sec!"

Chris held onto Josh like he'd never see him again, and rocked the limp man back and forth in the snow. Sam had made her way over too, and flashed Chris a look of empathy.

 

"Mike didn't do anything, Chris. Josh...." She trailed off as she watched the blonde man check Josh over.

 

"He waltzed straight into a fucking tree! We watched him do it!" Mike stated coldly.

 

But Chris wasn't listening. He had already scooped the older man up into his arms, and struggled back into the lodge. Sam and Mike quickly scurried after him, and watched as he gently placed him down upon the sofa.

 

His shining blue eyes searched Josh for any signs of life, he didn't know what injury to look at first. Six of Josh's fingers were broken, so was one of his wrists, Chris was pretty sure Josh had a broken nose as well, and he also had a nasty gash on his forehead, probably from the tree. Chris sunk down beside him, and placed his ear against Josh's chest, to listen to his heart, and felt himself get stuck there.

 

"I'm so sorry, Josh..." Chris began, his eyes glistened with tears that were threatening to fall. All the other four could do, was watch.

 

"I shouldn't have shouted at you. I should have... I should have stayed with you. I fucking _should_ have!"

 

The four watched as Chris sobbed uncontrollably over Josh's chest, Chris listened silently as Josh's soft heartbeat bounced back into life.

 

They all watched the two men before them in complete silence, as if time had frozen.

 

Sam felt tired.

 

Mike felt angry.

 

Emily felt betrayed

 

Ashley felt alone.

 

Chris felt as guilty as sin.

 

And Josh felt like death itself.

 

Chris' ears picked up a small hum from beneath him, and his vision flicked to the man he had his head perched upon. His gaze was welcomed by a bloodshot one.

 

For at least ten minutes, everyone was silent. Nobody dared to break the unnerving silence that had befallen them all.

 

The two men gazed into each others eyes, for what would seem like an eternity. Chris looked to Josh for some sort of sign, but he didn't know what. Josh had always been hard to read.

 

Chris finally opened his mouth to say something, but he was silenced as Josh violently grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him on top of him, he wrapped his arms around the nerd, and held him like he wouldn't see him tomorrow. Chris was shocked at the sudden contact, but soon melted into it.

 

For one moment everything was okay.

 

But moments end quickly.

 

 

Very quickly. 

 


	4. Fate is Funny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long :c I'm going to try to be more consistent. I'm not convinced that this chapter is any good, so feedback would be awesome!

 

Safe.

 

He was safe.

 

Chris had assured him that he was, nothing could get him, not here, not anymore. The things they saw, the torture they were forced into, it was all over now, and hopefully gone for good.

 

Josh remembered. He remembered the lodge burning, wood snapping, curling, hissing as it burned. Windows shattered, smashed, gone. He remembered standing there staring up as his worst nightmare danced around him. The Wendigo, they all perished in the flames, and he was glad they did. But Hannah...

 

Josh remembered the pain hammering down on his chest as he yelled, screamed, shouted, and cried as he watched The Wendigo melt into myth before his eyes.

 

He cried and cried and cried, he couldn't stop, the tears rolling down his cheeks like a waterfall, and the mountain echoed with nothing but hysterical tears. But he didn't know what he was crying _for._ Was it Hannah? Was it his family lodge burning to the ground? Was it that he made a terrible mistake? Or maybe he was afraid that his friends would never forgive him, maybe that was it?

 

All the six teenagers could do, was watch. Watch as their terrors burned and died before their eyes. It was finally over.

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

 

"Joshua Washington? Is that your name?"

 

Harsh light burned through his skull, he had been so used to darkness for so long. He was unresponsive, looking blankly at the woman before him, she looked middle-aged, with circular glasses sitting upon the bridge of her nose, and she held a notebook and pen held firmly in her grasp.

 

She wanted to know what happened. He didn't know what to say. What was he supposed to say? "I invited seven of my pals back to my parents mountain after they pranked my sister, which led to one of my sisters dying and the other turning into an evil cannibalistic monster, so I swore revenge, I played a horrible prank on all of them which led to waking up all the human-eating monsters on my mountain?" That sounded beyond unbelievable.

 

"Get that other boy that's standing outside. The one with the glasses, he's the only one the boy will talk to." The woman snapped. The police officer standing by the doorway nodded quickly, and hurried out the door.

 

The woman turned back to face Josh, a kind look resting in her eyes and a warm smile appeared on her face.

 

"You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." She cooed to him. In reality her voice was soothing and soft to the ears. But to Josh it sounded like two pieces of metal grinding against each other.

 

The woman raised her brow at the completely destroyed boy in front of her. One of his hands were dangling out of it's socket, as were nearly all of his fingers. His hair was tousled and had streaks of blood pushed through it. His eyes were bloodshot, not a single shred of white left in them.

 

"Miss...? Here's the boy you asked for..."

 

Josh immediately perked up at the sight of his best friend in the doorway.

 

"Hello... uh." She skimmed through her notes.

 

"Christopher." Chris shook the woman's hand, and sat himself down next to Josh, he flashed him a reassuring smile and patted his leg for comfort.

 

"Christopher, do you know what kind of medication Joshua takes?"

 

Oh no. Chris knew medication was a sore subject with Josh. The last time he tried to have a conversation with Josh about his meds, Josh yelled at him that he was fine and didn't want to talk about it. But it didn't stop them continuing their video game session.

 

Chris remembered the incident at school. Josh had been acting weird the whole day, weirder than usual, but Chris didn't dwell on it too much. It was in the changing rooms at Physical Education. Chris and Josh were the two last people there, because Chris wore an ungodly amount of layers, and Josh was the only one with enough patience to wait for him.

 

_"Bro? Are you alright? You look real pale, dude. Do you want me to get a teacher?"_

 

Josh nodded frantically, so Chris set him down on one of the benches and ran off to get a teacher. When he came back Josh had disappeared. Thinking Josh had just went for lunch, Chris went off to the cafeteria in search for him. When he arrived, Josh wasn't present. He looked under tables, he searched in cupboards, he ran around like a mad-man, but Josh was still nowhere to be seen. Chris then came to the conclusion that Josh had gone home, and so he stopped looking.

 

But Josh hadn't gone home.

 

_"Joshua Washington? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now? Hello, are you listening to me?"_

__

_"No... no. No! NO! L-leave me alone! Don't touch me, DON'T TOUCH ME!"_

 

  
_C_ hris shook that horrible memory out of his head, and returned to the situation in front of him. Josh had wiggled himself closer to the blonde man, their shoulders were pressed firmly together and it was uncomfortable sharing one chair. But Chris didn't mind, not one bit.

 

"Uh, I think..." His sentence trailed of as he switched his vision to Josh. To his surprise, the man beside him had his eyes transfixed on him also, as if he was encouraging him.

 

"I think it was a drug called... Phenelzine? I'm not sure..." The woman nodded and scribbled something down in her notepad.

 

This was going to be a long day.

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

 

"Sir, I'm going to need you to cooperate!!"

 

Josh shot the man the dirtiest look he could muster up, and held his hand close to his chest.

 

"Sir, if you don't let me look at your hand, it's going to be _really_ sore in the morning. Okay?"

 

"What a stupid guy!" Josh thought to himself. They're all stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. I don't need help from this dolt, I don't need help at all!

 

"I'm fine..." Josh managed to huff, he didn't want to be in this hospital, who wanted to be in a hospital? He wanted to be with Chris, where was he anyway?

 

Josh hopped up and off the table he had been sat in and shuffled to the door. The nurse that was examining him was quick to grab his arm. Josh shot up immediately at the contact, he didn't want this nasty nurse touching all over him. He clumsily shoved the man down onto his back and glared down at him with bloodshot eyes.

 

"Don't touch me! I don't need any of your stupid help...." He grumbled at the man, before drunkenly kicking open the door and stumbling out into the corridor.

 

Chris had left Josh was a nurse, hoping Josh would cooperate. He went off to get a drink from the vending machine, with too many thoughts flying around his mind. The police were still searching for Jess and Matt. Ashley didn't want to talk to him. Emily wasn't exactly heartbroken over Matt's disappearance. Sam promised she would come to see Josh tomorrow, and surprisingly, Mike wanted to come too. Mike was still sorry over beating Josh up in the shed and wanted to apologize properly.

 

The blonde man was rudely thrown from his thoughts when his eyes fixed upon an all to familiar person.

 

Josh.

 

Josh was staggering toward him at an alarming speed, his dungarees had been rolled down to his waist so his torso was bare. The nurse had put him on some sort of happy drug to stop him from squirming, crying and yelling, and Chris had to admit that it was definitely working.

 

"Bro? What the hell are you doing out here?" Josh was still making his way over, tripping up on his own feet with a goofy grin on his face.

 

"Josh? Are you okay? What's happened?" Josh still ignored him and came to an abrupt halt directly in front of Chris. They were awkwardly close, their noses near touching.

 

"Hey bro..." Josh bumbled, his bloodshot eyes moving obviously to the taller man's lips.

 

And then without warning, Josh kissed his best friend on the lips. He clasped Chris' face roughly and slammed his mouth against his. It only lasted for about ten seconds, but Chris was certainly taken aback.

 

"Josh! What the hell! Dude!" Chris rubbed his lips against his sleeve, his face glowing as red as a strawberry.

 

He knew when Josh came around from those drugs, he wasn't going to be very happy with himself.

 

But Chris wouldn't say he didn't enjoy it.

 

Well, not to anybody's face that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It sort of starts of real serious then at the end it gets kinda goofy, I'm sorry I did that, but I just couldn't resist! I'm a sucker for goofy moments in serious writing.


	5. Fate is Damn Weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? This chapter is so soon? What is this? What is this madness?
> 
> If you love embarrassed Chris and confused Josh, then this chapter is for you. Please remember to comment if you have time <3

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•- _One Month Later -_ °•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

 

It was hard to believe that all the horror had passed. That it was nothing more than a memory. Sometimes it was relived through dreams, nightmares, like a terrifying movie replaying every single night. But it was over now, and that's all that mattered.

 

All eight of them were safe now. No Wendigos , no mines, no mountains, no lodges, no snow, and definitely no pranks.

 

Matt and Jess were found huddled up in the mines, keeping each other warm. They were both brought back to the real world, and off that dreadful mountain. They were all finally safe, thank god.

 

They all decided that it was best if they just went their own ways, and never speak of the incident on the mountain again. Ever.

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

 

Swirling colours, left, right, above and below. The saw, the gun, the mines, those _monsters._ No, no, no. He didn't want to be here, not again. Take a step forward, no, he can't, he's stuck. Something's stumbling toward him, a monster? No, too small. Wait a second, he... he recognises that person... it can't be... Josh?

 

He reaches out, but he's too far away, the figure glares at him, his mysterious grey eyes spinning in his head. He tries to yell, shout, get his attention. But he's already gone.

 

_"Josh! Josh, Josh? Josh! JOSH!"_

__

_No, not again!!_

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

 

"Crap! Hope Chris didn't like that vase." Josh contemplated to himself, staring at the sad remains of Chris' Mother's vase on the ground. It was damn dark in here, it wasn't Josh's fault he was a little clumsy.

 

Josh had been living with Chris and his parents for about two weeks now. He was surprised that they took him in, after what he did.

 

His parents were fucking fuming that their very expensive lodge had burnt down. They didn't believe in any of the Wendigo "bullshit" that Josh had told them about, and practically disowned him.

 

Chris had gone back to living with his parents, because they wanted him to be around family while he recuperated. They were both extremely kind people and had learned to love Josh for years, he spent more time playing video games with Chris than talking to his own parents. Chris had brought up the matter at the dinner table, that Josh needed somewhere to live, and his parents didn't need more persuasion than that.

 

And now here he was. Standing over the shards of a beautiful vase. In the warm, cosy, hallways of Chris' parent's house at night.

 

Josh swiftly slumped down beside the chips of glass and scooped them up into his hands, and discreetly shoved them under the carpet.

 

"Job done." He nodded to the rug, and dramatically dusted off his hands and wandered  back to Chris' room.

 

Josh carefully creaked open the door just a crack, Chris was sleeping rather peacefully, his sheets had been tossed to the ground, again.

 

The brunette chuckled to himself, before entering the snug room and slowly snapping the door shut behind him.

 

For now, Josh just had a mattress thrown on the ground to sleep on. Chris' parents discussed buying a bed for him, and told him he could get any one he wanted. But his thoughts were silenced when a small moan came from the blonde man on the bed.

 

" _Josh..."_  


 

The older man jumped, Chris was obviously asleep. Was he dreaming about him? He hopes it wasn't anything dirty. Not that he would mind, obviously. He needed something new to pick on him about.

 

Josh ignored the sleeping man and settled himself down onto his mattress. Pulled the sheets over his head, and fluttered his eyes closed.

 

_"Josh...."_

 

There he goes _again. "_ It must be a pretty awesome dream if I'm in it." Josh chuckled to himself, and let his eyes close once more.

 

" _Josh...? Josh...!"_  


 

"Damn, cochise. Will you shut up?" Josh hissed, his voice raspy with tiredness. He reached up and clicked on a bedside lamp, glared at Chris' sleeping form. The blonde man was twitching and moving his arms around in his slumber.

 

"Nightmare, huh?"

 

The slightly smaller man lent on the side of the taller man's bed. Chris' forehead was drenched with sweat, his brow was furrowed and his expression was distraught. Josh brought his arm up and poked the man on his shoulder, twice.

 

"Wake up, nerd."  

 

Chris didn't comply, instead he turned over to face the wall, his back to Josh. The brunette let out a long sigh, and poked a finger to Chris' spine.

 

"Dude wake up." Josh repeated, stabbing Chris' spine with each syllable.

 

  
_"Josh.... Josh don't go....!"_ The sleeping man mumbled, rolling over with his face to the ceiling. Josh felt a heavy shiver run up his spine and pump into his chest.

 

"Oh, _Chris."_  


 

Josh clambered up onto the bed, he could feel the heat radiating off the man beside him from a mile away. Chris' chest was elevating up and down as if he was running. His pillow was drenched, his hands were scrunched up into fists, and his head kept nodding from left to right.

 

Josh dug his knees into Chris' hip, reached out and grabbed his arms roughly, forcing them to halt their movement. He gave Chris one very violent jolt. With Chris still not awake, Josh decided to go to his last resort. The man launched himself from Chris' side to across Chris' body, their torso's collided with a smack, and Chris shot up almost immediately.

 

" _JOSH?! W_ hat the _fuck? Dude!"_  


 

Josh let out a sleepy hum, slid off Chris, and crawled to the other side of the bed. Chris 'mouth hung wide open, his glare transfixed onto the impossible man in front of him.

 

"Wh-why would you do that, man? Jesus Christ!" The blonde man covered his pink face with his palm, and tried not to scowl. Which did nothing but lead to the other man to burst out laughing.

 

"S-stop laughing, oh my god..."

Josh snorted and wiped a tear from his cheek, and slapped his knee dramatically.

 

"Bro! Your face! That was priceless, man!"

 

Chris ignored the massive child before him, and looked to his watch. It was two in the morning. _Two in the morning,_ and he had been awoken by this loser. His room was unbelievably hot, and it was mostly because he was so embarrassed. He didn't understand how Josh wasn't ever embarrassed, that was a trait Chris would love to have.

 

"Chris, seriously though...." Josh began, his laughing halting after seeing the discomfort in Chris' eyes.

 

"You were twitching and shaking, I figured you were having a nightmare, and bros don't let bros have nightmares."

 

Oh thank god. That petrifyingly disgusting place, it was all a dream, he hadn't gone back after all. Chris expelled a lung-full of hot air, and slumped back into his pillow. His vision flicked upwards to the ceiling, and he was thankful that Josh had awoken him, for once.

 

" _Also_ , you were moaning my name, like you were in some sort of _porn_ movie, man!"

 

Chris snapped right back up. He _hadn't_ , had he? Chris didn't talk in his sleep, or so he thought.

 

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." Chris sunk back into his bed, hoping maybe the mattress would swallow him away from this embarrassment. He couldn't believe it.

 

This had to be the most embarrassing night of his life, and he has had a few with Josh before. There was climbing class, when they were both hauling each other up the rope, Chris stared at Josh's ass the _whole entire time._  


There was also that time where Josh and he ate a _whole entire box_ of gummy bears, Josh went on an absolute sugar rush, and Chris threw up all over Josh's shirt, Josh didn't mind at all, but Chris felt like he was dying.

 

"Dude, it's all right!" Josh chuckled, he tentatively punched the blonde's arm. Chris felt like he was bloody _melting._  


 

"It's not the first time I've caught you y'know..."

Holy shit.

 

_"WHAT?!"_

_Oh god oh god oh god._

 

Chris was dying, he wished he could just deteriorate into dust at this very moment. His life was ending, he knew it. He couldn't even look at the brunette before him, his goofy smile and his mocking laughter filling the whole room, the whole house even.

 

"Oh my god, Chris, I was _joking."_ Josh cut his laughter short, seeing the extremely serious expression on Chris' face.

 

"Wait..."

Chris' face was as red as a tomato, his palms were sweaty, and his expression was thunderstruck. Did Chris think he...

 

"Are you serious...? You... you... Chris?"

 

_This is it Christopher, this is the end._

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the: Start off serious then turn really silly thing, again. 
> 
> I love these two bros I hope they keep bro-ing for all eternity.  
> And I'm I'll be trying to upload more often, so you better stick around, if you want to see if Chris gets out of this particularly sticky situation!


	6. Is Fate Real?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you think Chris will get out of this situation? Or maybe it's his fate to go through with it...

__

 

_"Chris...? Are you... are you with me, man?"_

 

When the eight teenagers went back to the mountain, Josh had tried to set Chris up with Ashley the whole time. Chris loved Ashley, he really did, but not like _that._ He only went along with the dumb façade in the first place because Josh and Sam wouldn't stop talking about it. The very day he was sat next to Josh in school, he couldn't stop just _looking_ at him. He didn't know why he had those feelings, and why was it toward his _male_ best friend? Sure, women are damn beautiful, but he just wasn't attracted to them in any _romantic_ way.

 

Chris' little crush evolved into a _huge_ crush in high school. By then he had seen almost every dip and curve of Josh's form, and he just didn't know what to do. He thought, maybe, when everybody returned to the mountain, that he could confess his feelings, and that maybe Josh might return them. But every time Chris had enough bravery to pull the conversation up, somebody else came into the room, or Josh began rambling about something completely different.

 

That day in the hospital, when Josh yanked him down and kissed him, it was the most glorious day of Chris' life. When he tried to ask Josh about it, he just laughed and didn't say anything else about it. Chris thought that was the moment. The moment Josh would give him a sign. It wasn't. Maybe he never would.

 

"Josh, I-"

 

"Dude. Wow, I..." The brunette was hugging his legs, and tugging on his borrowed oversized socks. His glowing, hazelnut eyes refusing to make contact.

 

_Deep breath in, deep breath out._

 

Chris hopped up, and tucked his knees under himself. The small room was filled with deadly silence, but the laughter of the past still echoed in the walls. With no speech needed, Chris shuffled himself across the bed, and sat himself next to Josh. Wordlessly, their shoulders pressed together, and Chris took in a houseful of air.

 

"Josh, this is such a terrible moment to say this, but..." Josh perked up at Chris' words, their hearts beating like drums in unison.

 

"But...?" The brunette questioned. Chris exhaled, his hands were shaking like he was back in the snow. He reached out a hand, and it cautiously hovered over Josh's own.

 

"I hope you know how much you mean to me. I have nightmares every night about losing you, and I don't tell you enough that I..."

 

_You can do this, Christopher. You're already neck deep in feelings right now, no backing out._

 

"That I..."

 

_What if Josh doesn't want to be in a relationship with me? He lives in my family's damn house, this'll be so freaking awkward if he rejects me. I can't believe I'm confessing my feelings at two o clock in the morning after a stupid joke that went out of control? What am I doing??_

 

  
_"_ It doesn't matter..." Chris quickly blurted out, his arm dropping limply back to his side. He was screaming and cursing at himself inside. The air around them both immediately turned sour, as Chris crawled back into his shell.

 

Josh felt his own heart seize, like Chris had tied a chain around it, then _broke it off._  


 

Josh was not having this, not at all.

 

"Cochise, you need to listen to me." Chris vaulted upward at the other boy's harsh tone. Josh grasped Chris' hands firmly, and their vision interlocked. Chris' heart began pumping like he was running a marathon, and it felt as if time had paused in their wake.

 

"I've been sitting idly by, thinking that you and Ash were _made_ for each other. I've been pushing you two together for god knows how many years. But I realised that I wasn't trying to be your wingman, I was trying to push you away, because of how you make me _feel_. I've spent these years trying to shy away from telling you how I feel. I... you make me feel like I'm fucking _worth_ something, Chris."

 

The words cut into Chris' skull, every single word had an impact, like little knives slashing into Chris' mind. Chris never thought Josh valued him in that way, did he really mean what he was saying? Maybe this was all a joke, and he'd start laughing any minute now, _any minute now..._  


 

"Josh, are you... are you messing with me?" Chris queried, with a wistful look set on his face, he sat back down beside the brunette, who's expression was unreadable.

 

The room abruptly hushed. They could hear tepid water rush and flow through pipes, they could hear the heater in the corner buzzing and hissing, they could hear the shingles on the roof shuffle and scuffle in the wind. The absence of sound from the older man was unsettling, his eyes gazed blankly, his expression turning standoffish.

 

_Oh my god, he is serious, isn't he?_

 

Chris fidgeted in his spot, an indifferent feeling settling in the air. _Wasn't this moment supposed to feel magical?_ It didn't feel very magic at all.

 

The blonde man huffed, and tried to stand, but he found that he could not. Josh's grip on him was strong, and he didn't look like he was going to let go anytime soon. This was a joke, a stupid joke. Did Josh really want to do this kind of thing to him? Playing with his feelings just like they were a violin? A guitar? Piano? Trumpet?

 

The taller man stiffened, Josh was so warm, but his aura was so cold.

 

Not even fate could decipher what was to happen. Josh didn't believe in fate, he could write his own story, he didn't believe in a dumb thing like _fate._ He was about to take his life into his own hands, for once.

 

Josh's hands moved from Chris' wrists, to rest in the crook of the younger boy's neck. It was a surprising gesture for Josh. He wasn't usually a very touchy-feely person.

 

"Does this look like I'm messing with you, cochise?"

Chris didn't really know what happened next. He was too busy cheering in his head, and looking to the utterly beautiful man before him with a star-struck expression.

 

Chris' vision immediately flicked to Josh's chapped lips, Josh followed his eyes, and without delay or any hesitation, he pressed their lips together.

 

It wasn't abrupt like in the hospital, but it wasn't so long to be considered desperate. Chris had no idea where to put his hands, so he just kept them paused up in mid air. Chris could feel Josh grinning against him, as he tugged the blonde man's arms down to his sides.

 

Chris had kissed plenty people before. His Mother.... and uh, that's about it. The taller man awkwardly wrapped his arms around Josh's broad shoulders, and Josh reluctantly broke the kiss.

 

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to do that." Chris chuckled, pulling Josh into a snug embrace. He could feel Josh's smirk against his vest, and the brunette let out a raspy giggle.

 

" _Yup_....by the way, what're we gonna tell your Mom and Dad?" Chris shrugged.

 

"I'm gonna march downstairs in the morning, and yell at the top of my lungs: _I snogged Joshua last night!"_  


 

"Wow, I applaud your bravery, cochise."

 

It was funny. That when Josh ambled into Chris' room an hour or two ago, they were nothing more than best friends. But in the morning, they would both leave hand in hand as lovers. Maybe fate is real after all?

 

And maybe you _can_ rewrite your fate?

 

No, that's silly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! They finally properly kissed! Let's throw a party!
> 
> Also did you see how I snuck in the title at the end? I'm so clever (not)
> 
> Comments, bookmarks and kudos are really appreciated, if you have time, and they only take a second! 
> 
> <3


	7. Fate is Lovely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally amirite.   
> I actually have a good excuse as to why this is late, my tablet had a mini freakout and almost deleted all my files but it's all good.  
> So have some nerds.

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°• _-One Month Later-°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°_  


 

 

Josh padded through the empty hallways, his bare feet making slapping noises as he went. He had his toothbrush clenched between  his teeth as he stalked the house. This was an every morning ritual for Josh, he always woke up earlier than Chris, and was surprisingly an early bird, most of the time. He liked to check every room of the house, making sure nothing had changed or moved in the night, he didn't quite know why, but it made him feel safe.

 

He skidded to a halt outside the bathroom, and saw Chris' mother brushing her greying golden locks, singing away.

 

"Oh hello, soldier! Are you alright? Anything new to report?" She buzzed, grinning, and taking the toothbrush from his mouth.

 

"Nothing new to report." He beamed, giving the small lady a little salute. She gave out a delighted laugh, pulled him into a quick embrace, and strolled out the bathroom, but she stopped halfway down the hall.

 

"Do me a favour, Joshua, and wake Chris up will you? He's such a lazy man, I'm surprised he hasn't married his bed yet."

 

Then she went.

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

 

"Yo, space cadet, time to wake wake wake up!" Josh drummed his knuckles gently against Chris' chest, Chris let out a half hearted groan and slapped Josh's hands away.

 

"Josh, _no_."

 

"Josh _yes."_  


 

_°•°•°•°•°°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°°•°•°•_

 

Chris stood in the bathroom, glaring at his reflection. He still couldn't believe what happened on the mountain, but had agreed with himself not to think about it anymore, but at sometimes he just couldn't help it.

 

He remembered going into that dark shed, he remembered hearing Ashley's plead for help. He rushed to the sound, and to his horror, saw Ashley and Josh tied up in the middle of a fucking _sawblade._  


 

He remembered having to choose, and he remembered who he chose. His study partner or his best friend. He remembered the whirring of the saw buzzing in his mind like a clock, and time was running out. He remembered snapping the lever left, to Ashley, he didn't want her to die, but he didn't want Josh to die either, he cried and cried, but he saw the saw turning right to Josh.

 

_"NO! NO! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MENT!"_

 

He remembered the moment Josh pulling that disgusting mask up and off his head. It felt like he had been kicked in the gut. That Josh, his _best friend,_ would do that to him, make him feel those emotions that he didn't think he'd ever had to, and it was all fake, a prank.

 

Chris shook the thoughts out his head. That was over, and he was okay, they were all okay. He had talked to Ash on the phone yesterday, after she finally gave in and picked up the phone. He bawled his eyes out to her, then Josh came along and he did the exact same. Ashley laughed for hours.

 

_"You two so owe me a coffee!"_

 

The last time Chris saw Mike was in the hospital, with Josh.

 

Josh was absolutely terrified of him.

 

" _Don't hit me again, please, please, I'm sorry."_  


 

Mike never looked so guilty.

 

Matt and Jess. Josh and Chris had gone on a double date with them, and it was the greatest laugh they'd had in ages. Except for the part Josh dropped to his knees to apologize for an hour straight, but Matt was a nice guy and forgave him really quickly, exactly the same with Jess.

 

_"Hey, Josh, man. Get up, it's absolutely fine, it wasn't your fault, buddy."_

 

Chris never expected to see Emily again, but he did. He saw her when he was at the park with Josh, surprisingly she was walking linked arms with Jess.

 

_"Oh my god, Josh and Chris, you two are so cute together! You totally have to get matching t-shirts."_

 

And Sam. She called Chris everyday to check up on Josh, it was like he was her adopted son or something.

 

_"Has Josh had his meds today? Is he alright? Is he eating okay? Is he smiling? Has he been laughing?"_

 

Chris laughed to himself, ran some gel through his hair, and left.

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

 

"Josh, c'mon. You can do it."

 

Chris was sat cross legged on the floor, rubbing circles into his partners back. Josh hummed into the touch, and anxiously eyed the pills sat in front of him. Chris cautiously  handed him a glass of water, and Josh took it reluctantly. The taller man leaned over smaller man and clumsily scooped the pill bottle into his hand, and carefully shook two pills from it.

 

"Okay, open up the hatch, shorty." Chris shuffled his position to sit in front, and Josh obeyed Chris' command obediently. Chris popped the pills onto Josh's tongue, pressed a long kiss to his forehead, and watched as he took a big gulp of water from the glass, Josh's face quickly turned to a grimace, and he stuck his tongue out dramatically.

 

"I know, I know. But they help a lot."

"They taste like rotten bananas." Josh mumbled, taking another swig of water. Chris giggled instinctively, he knew laughing made Josh feel better after taking his meds.

 

"You're awesome, Josh. I love you."

Josh paused, fingers wringing around the glass.

 

"I suppose I love you too..." Josh leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Chris' nose.

 

"...you nerd."

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

 

"Woah, Chrissy-boy. Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?"

 

It took Chris a moment to realise he was scowling. Josh and he were watching kids cartoons late at night, something that seemed to be a recurring theme for them. They were in the middle of "Courage the cowardly dog" when Josh paused it.

 

"What? Nobody's allowed to go near my cornflakes. Especially the honey flavoured ones." Chris smiled, burying his head into the crook of Josh's neck.

 

"Babe, I know when something's up, and something is definitely up." Chris paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. Josh's face went bright pink and he gently shoved Chris off him.

 

"Eww, _dude! I swear to god._ You are so dirty minded." Josh sighed, crossing his arms with a huff, was that a pout?

 

"Uh, what? _I'm_ dirty minded? Excuse me, have you met you?" Chris poked to Josh teasingly.

 

"Apparently not..." Josh looked to the television, then back to Chris, then to his lap, then back to Chris.

 

"I'm fine, Josh. I'm the one who should be worrying."

 

Chris threw his arms around Josh's neck, and began planted mad kisses onto his cheek.

 

"Oof, stop it, you nerd!" Josh giggled standing up to his feet, and ran off dramatically to the kitchen. Chris was quick to follow after him, laughing like an idiot.

 

Josh was kneeling in front of the sink, theatrically throwing water to his face, making distressed noises as he did so.

 

"Ah! Cooties! Cooties!" He yelped, his voice cracking at the high pitch it was at.

 

"Josh! You're making a mess!" Chris found it hard to produce words at the amount of air he was lacking from laughing so much. He went to place a hand on Josh's shoulder, but Josh flinched away and the both fell onto the ground, and Josh began screaming and backing away from Chris like he was in a horror movie, making Chris burst out laughing yet again.

 

"No! No more cooties! My Mom and Dad will k-" Josh cut himself off, and Chris' laughter immediately halted. Oh no.

 

"Josh...?"

Josh quickly shook his head, and hopped up to his feet. Looking absolutely  miserable for a second before a smile appeared back on his lips.

 

"G-get away!" He cried, before he ran off screaming, his voice so incredibly high, bats could probably hear it. Chris frowned to himself before getting up and launched himself after him.

 

Josh knew his parents may never expect to see him again. But who needs them? He had Chris, and Chris is all he needs right now.

 

Fate as been especially kind to him this past month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like the nickname Chrissy-boy, I don't know why.
> 
> Thanks for reading my fic today!


	8. I Love you so Much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angst ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST (and comfort smh)
> 
> this is actually my favourite chapter so far, hope you like it too.

 

**_Bzzzzzzt!!_ **

 

The atmosphere was hot and sticky, not even a sliver of light. Josh's ears picked up on the small vibrations, bumbling throughout his brain like a song.

 

**_Bzzzzzzzzzzt!!_ **

 

His eyes slowly creep open, casting his gaze upon the buzzing machine. It was Chris' phone. His mouth hangs open just a tad, flicking his vision to his sleepy partner, Chris' snores and snuffles suggest he's having a rather good sleep, which is something Josh knows is rare for him.

 

**_Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzztt!!_ **

 

The little gadget was ready to explode with enthusiasm, the call was obviously important if it went on this long. Josh's hand hovered over the device, giving Chris one last look of concern, before scooping it into his hand and answering the call swiftly.

 

"H-hello?" Josh sighed into the device, taking a moment to stifle another yawn with his fist.

 

"Josh? Josh is that you??" Josh's expression turned mystified , trying to recognise the voice on the other end of the line. He pulled himself up into a sitting position, his fingertips swirling around Chris' hip bone, and Josh watched as the other man smiled in his slumber.

 

"Who am I talking to?" He heard a hearty laugh from the caller, a female laugh. Josh took the phone away from his ear, grumbling, he went to end the call.

 

"It's Sam, buddy-boy! Don't you recognise your old bestie?" Josh promptly put the gadget back up to his ear, smiling into the device, as his vision locked to Chris' peacefully napping form.

 

"Sammy? What're you doing calling so late?" Josh reached out and squeezed Chris' hip bone again, gently caressing the dry skin there.

 

"Oh, well it's nice to see you too, bud!"

 

Chris let out a delighted hum in his sleep at Josh's handiwork on his sore hip, loud enough to be audible to Sam's ears. Josh immediately retracted his hands, his face going pink.

 

"Uh, I'm sorry, are you two uh... busy by any chance?" Josh gave Chris daggers, even though Chris couldn't see him in his sleep.

 

"No! No! I'm just-"

 

"Yeah, save it for later, cowboy." Josh let out a lungful of air, and ran a hand through his bedhead hair.

 

"What do you want, Sam?" Josh huffed, cracking his knuckles so she could hear, and carefully intertwining his fingers with Chris', whom was still out cold.

 

"Y-your... Mom called me exactly one hour ago asking to talk to you, since you lost your phone when.... anyway, she wants to talk to you. Desperately."

 

Josh silently took the phone away from his ear for a moment. His eyes instantly reddening as tears began to form. He casually lifted the phone back up to his ear, trying to make his sniffles inaudible.

 

"Where are you?" He queried, standing up swiftly, tugging some jeans up his legs rapidly.

 

"I'm in my flat, dummy." She added softly. Josh placed the device down, and yanked Chris' oversized hoodie over his torso.

 

"I'll be there in five." Right away, he ended the call. Just as he was about to reach for the handle, he was interrupted.

 

"Josh? Where're you going?" The blonde man questioned, clambering out of bed, he was fresh from sleep so he was clumsy, tripping up on one of his old toys on his way over. He then stood firmly in front of the older man, completely unclothed.

 

"I need to go see Sam." He answered truthfully enough. His position frozen.

 

"At one in the morning?" Chris raised a brow, his hands found his hips, and stood there being completely clueless.

 

"Yes, at one in the morning."

 

"Then I'm coming with you." Chris finalised, pulling a pair of underwear on, not breaking eye contact at all.

 

"No, you don't have to-"

 

"Yes I do. Let's get going."

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

 

The street lights shimmered over the darkness, trying their best to light the way. The two men walked silently, linked arms. A few drunk men stumbled past them, shouting homophobic slurs as they wandered the streets. Josh and Chris completely ignored them. Idiots.

 

"God, I wish I still had my _car_." Josh heaved. They weren't that far from Sam's block of apartments now, a few more minutes and they'd be there. Chris snorted at Josh's remark, limping a little as his hip groaned inside of him.

 

"I wish you still had your car too." Josh noted Chris' limping pretty fast.

 

"Why're you limping?" He inquired, halting in his tracks. Chris looked down to his shoes, his face going a little pink.

 

" _We_ need to be more _careful_ , y'know?" Chris snapped, pointing an accusing finger to the man before him. Josh grunted and began his walking again, smiling besides the situation he was going to have to face.

 

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

 

_Knock, knock, knock._

 

Sam immediately clicked off her television, and rushed herself over to the door, shoving the heavy door open to be welcomed by four sleepy eyes.

 

"Hey, guys. Come in." Josh kicked off his shoes off as he entered, knowing that Sam hated dirt on the carpet, a peeve that she acclaimed from being coated in dirt on the mountain.

 

Chris suspiciously eyed Sam's attire. A large checked shirt that looked strangely familiar. What was all that about?

 

"I'll get you both some tea, I'll be back in a moment." Sam quickly hopped off to the kitchen.

 

Chris opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the sound of water flushing. Wait. Sam didn't go to the bathroom, Josh was beside him, and Chris was pretty sure he wasn't in the WC. Who else was here?

Josh was obviously wondering the same, because he gave Chris that strange look he made when something wasn't up.

 

Then, like the idiot he was. Michael Monroe came stumbling out the bathroom, in nothing but his boxers. Josh scowled, and immediately dug his face into Chris' chest, letting out distressed noises as he did so.

 

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you two lovebirds today! How's it hanging?" Mike stood there shamelessly in his underwear.

 

Out of all the people that could be falling out of Sam's bathroom half naked. It just had to be Mike.

 

"Mike! Oh my god! I thought you left?" Sam exclaimed, putting the chipped mugs down on a coffee table and marching up to him.

 

"Well... I haven't. Sooo.... surprise? I guess?"

 

"Oh my god. _Out."_  


__

_°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°°•_

 

It took a lot of persuasion, but Mike did eventually leave. With his clothes on, thank god.

 

Josh and Chris didn't bother questioning the two's relationship, because it was none of their business after all. _Plus_ , Mike was with a new girl every week, the only absolute perks of being a handsome, charismatic, full time nice guy. Ha.

 

The were all sat in the kitchen. Speech completely void. Josh was sat on a countertop, Chris was leaning against the fridge, and Sam was sat cross legged on the floor, as they all silently sipped their beverages.

 

Out of the blue, Josh violently slammed his mug down onto the counter, almost shattering it.

 

"I want to speak to my Mom." He said simply, a tone of irritation in his voice. Sam nodded and dug her phone out her pocket. The only reason Sam had Josh's Mother's number in the first place; was because his Mother wasn't a very trusting person, and didn't trust Chris to keep Josh in line, but she knew very well that Sam would, and she did. So they both sneakily traded numbers and swore not to tell Josh.

 

Sam dabbed the numbers in, and waited.

 

Surprisingly, she picked up straight away, she must have been waiting by the phone.

 

"Hi, Mrs Washington. Joshua's here, I'll just give him the phone."

 

Sam shifted upward to give the phone to Josh. His hands were shaking, even though Chris' hoodie was making him overheated. Having last thoughts, he shook his head frantically, and shimmied off the countertop. Chris straightened himself up immediately.

 

He felt like something had just rocked his world, everything was shaking, wobbly, even Sam and Chris looked distorted. Josh enclosed his palm around his mouth and hurried off toward the bathroom. Chris was quick on his tail, and managed to slide in the door before Josh slammed it.

 

Chris fumbled the pan of the toilet open, and frowned as Josh fell to his knees in front of it. Chris made his way to Josh's back, and rubbed soothing circles into his spine. Closing his eyes as Josh choked up his fear. Chris lulled and cooed as Josh that it was alright, and he was okay.

 

Josh fell backwards into Chris' knees, making Chris tumble backwards onto the tiles. Luckily Chris didn't hurt himself. The tall man looked to the other's concerned eyes. As their gazes collided, Josh's face crumbled, and it wasn't long for tears to be rolling down his cheeks. Chris reached out, and soothed Josh's cheeks with his fingertips.

 

"I'm so stupid... what kind of idiot can't talk to their own Mother?" The words made Chris freeze. How could this man feel like this toward himself. To Chris, Josh was perfect. Everything about him, from his scars on his wrists, to the dimples on his cheeks.

Chris shuffled on the ground, pulling Josh into his lap, and stroked his fingers through his unkempt hair.

 

"Josh... you're not an idiot. I love everything about you... they way you laugh, I love the way you furrow your brow when your confused, I love the way you walk around the house in the mornings with your toothbrush in your mouth, I love the way you make me watch those annoying kids movies just to chastise them, I love the way you twitch when you lie, I love your cheesy pick up lines, I love how you're so ticklish, I love you. I love you so much."

 

Josh seized his crying. The room was completely hushed. All they could hear was the whirring of the ceiling fan, and the occasional pigeon outside. Chris took Josh by the shoulders, and sat him up rather roughly, glaring into his big eyes, he was going to tell him something he better not forget.

 

"Joshua Washington. You are the biggest dork on planet earth. The clumsiest, funniest, most amazing dork in the whole universe. So you better listen up, because I won't let you hear the end of it. I.... love....you!!" Chris shook Josh's shoulders at every syllable.

 

Josh's expression was unreadable at first. The words still sinking in. But then, his lips cracked into the goofiest smile he could muster, and his eyes welled up with tears, but this time it was _happy tears._ Tears of joy!

 

Chris was quick to pull him into an embrace, hoping their bond would never break as long as they both lived.

 

_**Because Chris loved Josh.** _

__

_**And Josh loved Chris.** _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's file is named: Until Dawn 8 SAD TIMES CRY CRY CRY
> 
> i was actually considering not continuing this fanfic, because i wasn't sure what to do after chapter six.  
> BUT i now know exactly what i want to do with it and this fanfic will live as long as me.  
> hope you have a cool day, you cool kid.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, the next chapter's gonna be much more captivating, so please stick around!


End file.
